All Chapters of The Son of Red Fang: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

I walk with Lilly back over to Cole’s bed. Both he and Madilyn appear to be sleeping. I guide Lilly to the stool I was sitting in before I started then stopped giving his medication to him. She sits down gently as I do the same on the bed. I run my hand through his hair a couple times before speaking to him. “Cole, I’m sorry for the delay. It looks like my helper has fallen asleep for the night. You met Luna Lilly this morning when we discovered the injuries to your chest and abdomen. She’s going to coach you through the slow count as I give you the steroid. Unfortunately, the feeder we have been using won’t do this smaller amount over an hour so I will give it by hand over about a minute.” I feel him nod his head in my hand as I place my hand in his. “Lilly, he can’t handle anything on his neck but gently rubbing the back of his head seems to be quite comforting. Put your hand where mine is.” I can feel that Lilly is a lot more timid in being hands on with Cole then I am. Unfortu

“No, Alpha. It didn’t go over well. Three days after I was taught a lesson by Andre, dad made a special point of publicly reinforcing that lesson in front of Luna Sasha and the higher ranks of the pack.”I can tell by his eyes, breathing and hands that he’s headed into a flashback. Since he’s skirting around the exact nature of what these lessons are I don’t want him to get too deep. I gently place my hands upon his fists as they curl around the blanket he’s sitting on. He startles me when he yelps, pulling his hands away and quickly assuming a defensive and protective position with them in front of his face. I gently place my hands on his again, calmly persuading him to lower his defenses. His eyes are filled with fear as I apologize for startling him before encouraging him to continue. “Per the contract with Alpha Robert the union ceremony happened three weeks later, exactly six months after she came into the pack. About a month later was the first time my dad grabbed a hold of me

“Dad, you said earlier that those of us that have seen the injuries on Cole haven’t seen the full picture. I saw his chest and abdomen when we interrupted a dream of his this morning. His injuries looked painful and raw.” “Your mom saw the same thing Damian. The only thing Pat saw was the burn on his leg.” “He’s been burned?” Lilly whispers in shock. “He is in a lot worse shape than anyone knows. I’ll tell all of you what I told Xavier, I’m not certain that we’ve even found everything that’s going on with him but I can say this is one of the worst cases of abuse that I’ve seen in the ten years that I’ve been working with the warrior program.”“What have you found Demetri? Like you said, I only saw a nasty burn on his leg.” I sigh as I pull out the picture I printed off of his chest. “The cuts and bruises that are crossing his chest we have also found on his back, bottom, the backs of both thighs, his abdomen, across the front of his left thigh and his groin.” Everyone stops eati

I reach over to Lilly, who’s sitting to my right, and run my hand gently through her hair. She sighs as she leans into me, I know hearing about Cole’s condition is wearing her down. I sigh myself as I continue. “The biggest problem I’m having right now is him not talking. He was willing to explain what was going on between him and Luna Sasha but he was unwilling to go into any details as to what his brother did to teach him a ‘lesson’ when he tried to warn him that she was a loose woman or what his father did to reinforce that ‘lesson’ in front of Sasha.” I put air quotes around lesson both times to bring emphasis to Cole’s wording. “It is extremely complicated and difficult to get an adult who isn’t willing to talk out of an abusive situation. If I had a child in this condition or even if he was a day away from turning twenty-one, I could act immediately and protect him from returning to Red Fang.” “Couldn’t you just explain the protection orders to him? That if he talked you cou

Everyone is staring at me again, shock on their faces as to the treatment he receives at the hospital. Once again Patrick is the only one capable of keeping the conversation going. He starts rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he asks his next question. “I need a little help understanding why we would need to remove Dr. Carter from the territory when Cole is getting really shitty care from the hospital as well. Is the abuse he’s getting from his father systemic through the pack? Why is he hiking miles to get to the general hospital when every pack house is mandated to have a hospital wing?” “My understanding is that Dr. Carter is the only alpha doctor that is willing to defy Alpha Charles. He is the only one that can treat Cole when he’s in a crisis or so badly injured by his father that he has to be hospitalized. I also suspect that purposely giving Cole an insufficient amount of money for medical care is how Alpha Charles is keeping the council at bay when they’ve come to in